Months of pain, bloating led woman, 22, to rare ovarian cancer diagnosis

After two months of abdominal pain curled up, frequent yeast infections, urinary tract infections, and gas, Catherine Saoud, then 22, learned that she had a 21 centimeter mass in her abdomen, which was a rare ovarian cancer. While shocked, she shares her story to encourage women to listen to their bodies and seek help.

Catherine Saoud took this photo over a year ago when she first noticed she was abnormally bloated.Courtesy Catherine Saoud

“The message that many women hear is that this is normal, that this happens and you just have to suck it up,” said 23-year-old Chicago doctoral student TODAY. “I just wanted to tell people, especially women, that it’s okay to take care of your body, notice changes, and ask questions that demand answers.”

Pain, infection, gas

In March 2020, Saoud began experiencing a new type of cramp.

“It wasn’t like your usual menstrual cramps,” she said. “That was very different. It felt like my muscles, my organs were inflamed and the pain was radiating. “

She also started having recurring yeast and urinary tract infections. And her stomach was so bloated that she was worried.

“I was also extremely bloated. For me that was the most worrying symptom because it was so visible, ”she said. “I looked pregnant and my stomach felt hard, so the gas wasn’t like the typical gas.”

The stomach pain that Catherine Saoud felt kept her in bed for most of the day. She also felt like she looked pregnant, although she definitely wasn’t. Courtesy Catherine Saoud

Eventually the pain became so intense that she could no longer move.

“I couldn’t walk and I couldn’t stand up,” she said. “Going to the bathroom and getting food were the only ways to get out of bed … I would walk around bent over because the pain was so bad.”

Doctors treated her for the yeast infections and urinary tract infections, but the infections never went away. Then the pandemic started and personal appointments were set. She was no better for two months, no matter how many prescriptions and lifestyle changes the doctors recommended over telemedicine.

“The doctors kept telling me the pain would go away,” Saoud said. “I pushed and pushed and pushed and they finally got me in.”

Catherine Saoud’s symptoms worsened in the early days of the pandemic and she had to make many virtual visits.Courtesy Catherine Saoud

A nurse at the health department made frequent calls to Saoud and helped her prepare to stand up for herself during visits to the doctor. She had a lot of gynecological exams. At one point they thought Saoud’s kidneys were going to fail. But after each exam, the doctors noticed how puffy she was.

“One of the doctors who was doing an exam put my stomach down and I screamed in pain and said, ‘This really hurts. I think there’s something in there, ”she said.

Eventually she underwent an ultrasound. It quickly became clear that the technician had found something.

“A technician said there was a mass, but she couldn’t tell which ovary it was on. She got another technician and then the radiologist to do his own imaging, ”Saoud said. “I knew it was serious.”

When she tried to find out more about it, they evaded her questions.

“I asked how big the crowd was and the tech looked at me and laughed and said, ‘Do you really want to know?'” She said.

A rare, large ovarian cancer

After this scan, Saoud met with a gynecologist who told her that she needed an operation because of the size of the mass of 21 centimeters and referred her to an oncologist.

Saoud had her mother on the loudspeaker and the oncologist explained what had plagued Saoud.

“She got it right. She told me she was pretty sure it was cancer, ”Saoud said. “She knew as soon as she saw these pictures that something was wrong.”

In some ways, the COVID-19 pandemic has helped Catherine Saoud. Although she was in extreme pain that sometimes made it impossible for her to walk, she was still able to take classes from her bed. Courtesy Catherine Saoud

Saoud received her diagnosis on May 7, a Thursday, and returned on Monday to have the mass removed. Her mother drove to Chicago from Maryland to be for the trial.

“I had the weekend to prepare for the possible loss of all of my reproductive organs,” she said. “I had a very short time to process what my future might look like.”

Her oncologist removed the large mass, her right ovary, and right fallopian tube. While the tumor occupied her entire pelvic cavity and pushed some organs aside, the cancer had not spread. When the biopsy results came back, Saoud learned that she had an ovarian germ cell tumor, which occurs when cancer forms in the eggs of the ovary. Germ cell tumors make up less than 2% of ovarian cancer diagnoses, according to the American Cancer Society. Her tumor also had hair and bones.

It can be difficult to diagnose ovarian germ cell cancer because the most notable symptoms are:

• Swollen abdomen.
• Postmenopausal bleeding.

Saoud’s diagnosis was stage 1 cancer, but he’s considered the most aggressive type and is likely to return.

“With the latest research now available, my oncologist said she was confident that surgery would be enough,” she said.

Empower women

Saoud had to have monthly blood draws and CT scans and pelvic exams every four months to see if the cancer had returned. But she is doing so well that, on the recommendation of her doctor, she will expand some tests further. She found it important to share her story to encourage others to take care of themselves when something was wrong.

“I think this is an important message that people need to hear in order to take care of their health,” she said. “Ovarian cancer is so rare in younger women. My goal is not to freak out women about … ovarian cancer. It is very much just to be aware of your body. “

While it was difficult to have persistent symptoms and not be able to see a doctor, a student health nurse frequently called Catherine Saoud to follow up her symptoms. This nurse helped Saoud take better care of himself during appointments. Courtesy of Ica Images

But she knows that it can be difficult for many people, especially when they are laid off.

“I was told I didn’t wipe myself properly in the bathroom. I was told it was my soap … so those were the things I got that seemed very typical of younger women, ”Saoud said. “It was very debilitating for me because I was bedridden for a long time and felt very isolated and I didn’t feel that I was being taken seriously.”

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source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/months-of-pain-bloating-led-woman-22-to-rare-ovarian-cancer-diagnosis/